Chapter 3: Escape From Zephyr Heights
The Tale of Neon Light
Written by DeffBwade
Chapter 3: Escape From Zephyr Heights
"She's a fake!"
"Fake!"
"The royals can't fly either?!"
Terror and panic were all that was visible on Pipp's face as she just hung there upside up, the wires preventing her from getting away, while the pegasi around me were exclaiming and taking pictures of this shocking revelation.
The revelation that the Royal Family can't fly!
It must be scary for the Royal Family to be exposed as nothing more than a bunch of frauds.
And it must've been heartbreaking for the citizens to learn that their rulers that have promised to protect them with their magical abilities were just as flightless as everypony else.
And as for me?
I just stood there with wide eyes at the form of my friend struggling to get out of her binds.
To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how exactly I should feel at the moment. Sad that Pipp's performance, which she stated numerous times was going to be her biggest one, was ruined? Shocked that she can't fly and has been pretending to all this time? Angry that she and the rest of her family have been lying?
Who knows? Probably all of the above.
One thing for sure though was that one single question was running through my mind.
"Pipp, why didn't you tell me?" I thought with a bit of disappointment.
Taking a quick look back, I saw that Zipp was now running away with the prisoners and the stallion who was revealed to be another earth pony. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and determine that she was the one that helped them escape.
And there's also the fact that she's just running away when her sister needs help!
"Wait, is she just gonna leave her sister—?!" I asked as I was about to run after her, but stopped and deadpanned when I saw that she was already out the door, "...And she's gone."
So many things are happening that only lead to more questions.
Why did an earth pony and unicorn just show up out of the blue?
How did Zipp help them escape? Why did Zipp help them escape?
Why did they ruin Pipp's performance?
And why am I just standing here?
...
Why am I just standing in place and watching while Pipp is panicking?! I have to do something!
...
I have to move! I have to go and save her! Get her out of here before she gets seized by an angry mob!
...
It doesn't matter whether or not this is my problem! And it definitely doesn't matter that she lied! She's still my friend!
"This is probably the most reckless thing I've ever done. Pipp, you better give me a good explanation for this," I thought with determination as I began to walk through the crowd and towards Pipp. The only problem is that I didn't have a plan, "Come on. Think Neon. How do you get a princess away from an angry mob when she's smack dab in the center of it?"
In the corner of my vision, I could see that the guards have also turned on the Royal Family if them seizing Queen Haven were any indication.
"Dang it. I'm sorry your majesty, but I can't save you. It's not like I'm in control of the your guards or anyth—"
!!!
And that's when an idea popped into my head.
"...This idea is completely stupid and shouldn't work...," I sighed, but as I got closer and closer, Pipp finally managed to break free from her binds and fell towards the ground, which prompted me to practically to quicken my pace, "...but I have no choice but to try it anyway."
"Alright everpony! Back up!" I yelled out loud enough for the crowd to hear before they could get any closer to Pipp. Almost immediately when everypony turned to me, I started to get weak knees and a bit of sweat. I almost froze up completely, but seeing my friend in distress, I knew I had to keep going. The pink pegasus in question had a surprised look on her face when she saw me approaching, but quickly turned into one of hurt when I said, "Y-you do not need t-to worry. I-I and rest of the Royal G-guards will make s-s-sure that your princess will s-swiftly face j-justice for her c-crimes."
I am such a crap actor when all eyes are on me. This is why I don't show my face on my videos and streams. Because I don't do well with all the attention.
What I said seemed to have its effect, however, as the crowd stopped in their tracks and backed up a bit.
"A-a-alright Princess. To the du-dungeon you go," I said with a frown on my face, but when I grabbed Pipp's hoof to pick her up, I discreetly gave her a wink and whispered, "Play along."
She seemed to get the message at what I was doing as her eyes widened a bit. She pretended to resists arrest yet not to the point that I was actually dragging her through the crowd, who kept glaring and calling out that she was a fake and a liar.
I turned my head back and saw just how hurt she was from all the hateful comments as she averted her eyes to the ground and was on the verge of tears. I wish I could say something, anything to get them to stop, but I don't want to risk it.
"I'm surprised this is actually working so far," I thought as I finally got through the crowd and continued to drag Pipp towards the exit, "You'd think that at least one pony would see through my decep—"
"Hey, wait a minute! He's not part of the Royal Guard!" a voice, most likely belonging to an actual guard, bellowed out, causing both of us to freeze.
"Crap, I just jinxed it."
Pipp and I glanced at each other before we did the only sensible thing to do in this type of scenario.
We ran.
As we were nearing the exit though, something shiny on the ground caught my attention. It was the crystal that I saw on the ground just about a minute ago. The crystal that belonged in Queen Haven's crown.
First, it was just laying randomly on the ground for some reason. And now it was positioned exactly where Zipp was standing before she fled with the prisoners.
It wasn't hard to connect the dots in that one second of seeing it lying on the ground.
"This...this crystal...Was this the whole reason why Pipp's show was ruined? Why Zipp was running away with the prisoners? All for this stupid crystal?!" I thought with a bit of anger, "She really went through all that trouble to steal this thing, and then she ends up dropping it and leaving it behind?!"
As we continued to run, I swiped the crystal and tucked it under my wing.
Once we exited the throne room, we wasted no time shutting the doors just before the mob could reach us. Now the thing with the doors is that they require some effort to open them when they're fully shut, meaning that we bought ourselves a few seconds until the mob is on us again.
"Come on! Let's go!" I said to Pipp as we both ran through the halls.
"Hey, thanks Neon. I owe you one," Pipp said with appreciation.
"Yeah, you owe me an explanation when we get to safety," I responded sternly as I looked back to her, whose face fell a bit in response.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" she asked after composing herself.
"Honestly I didn't think I would get this far ahead, so...keep running to the elevator?" I suggested...just before we heard the sound of the throne room doors opening.
"Yeah, running sounds fine," Pipp responded with panic in her voice.
"It's a good thing the guards were in the throne room as well," I thought with relief, "We haven't encountered a single one so fa—Oh come on!"
Pipp and I stopped in our tracks as three guards were turning the corner. I immediately grabbed Pipp and hid ourselves behind a pillar. We practically held our breathes as the guards passed by.
"Okay, new plan," I whispered as I peeked my head out to see that the guards were gone, "We sneak our way out, but we have to be quick as well if we don't want that mob to catch us."
"But how?" Pipp asked.
Due to the amount of guards and citizens that are currently after our heads, it would be too risky to just stay out in the open like this. Pipp might have the advantage of being small, but both of our color schemes aren't exactly meant to blend into an environment with bright light.
And if we get caught, we'd be pretty much screwed. We weren't as athletic as Zipp, but we were no slowpokes either. But who knew how many ponies after us are actual professional sprinters?
I looked around to see how we can sneak out of here, and conveniently saw one of those rolling tables with the white cloth over.
"Ah, there we go," I said with a smile.
"Jeez, how can two ponies manage to get away with just a few second head start?" Thunder asked nopony in particular as he and his partner Zoom walked through the halls of the palace in search of their false princess and her accomplice.
"Just keep looking. They couldn't have gone far," Zoom said.
As the two guards continued their search, they happened to pass by a random yet ordinary looking table sitting out in the hall. Thinking nothing about it, the two continued to walk down the hall and—
"Achoo!"
"Hmm?" Zoom immediately turned her head to see what the noise was and where it came from.
"What's wrong?" Thunder, who apparently did not hear the noise, asked upon seeing his partner.
"...Nothing. Just thought I heard something," Zoom shook her head and continued walking.
"...Okay?" Thunder said as he followed his partner, "...Do you think the Royal Family can really fly?"
"What?"
"I mean...maybe that's why Princess Pipp managed to get away so fast?"
"Thunder, we literally saw her hanging on wires with our own eyes. And even if she could, what about her accomplice?"
"...Maybe she carried him. Or maybe he's also part of the Royal Family. Or maybe that whole thing was all part of the show."
Zoom only facehoofed in response.
And while the two guards continued their search, neither of them noticed that the table they passed by was now gone.
"That was close," I sighed out of relief as Pipp and I continued to move through the halls while hiding underneath the table. I peeked from under the covers and smiled as I recognized the doors that lead to the outside, "We're nearly there. We just have to make it to the elevator and we'll be free."
I stopped our movement, however, as I noticed a couple of guards guarding the door. Luckily, they were faced away from us.
"It's never easy, is it?" I groaned.
"So what now? We can't just wait for them to leave. Who knows how long that would take?" Pipp asked.
"If your enemy doesn't have a reason to leave, then make them have one," I responded before I turned to her, "Be quiet and follow my lead."
I then started to slowly creep out from under the table, Pipp following in tow. Keeping an eye on the guards ensured me that they haven't noticed our presence yet. Turning my head a bit to make sure that I don't knock anything over, I carefully reached a hoof out and picked up one of the gold plate covers on the table. I turned and motioned for Pipp to follow me. We both carefully crept over to beside the entrance and behind the door, just out of sight of the guards.
I then reeled my hoof back and tossed the plate cover down the hall, resulting in a loud clang.
CLANG
"What the?!" one of the guards yelled out, "Who's there?!"
I smiled a bit as the two guards then stormed into the castle and just past us towards the plate cover. I immediately signaled Pipp to go, to which we both quickly yet carefully went through the doors and towards the elevator that leads to the city.
"Holy crap! That actually worked!" I whispered as we reached the elevator and pressed the button.
"I know, right?!" Pipp said with excitement.
"HEY, YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice yelled out as the elevator doors opened.
We both quickly looked back and started to panic as the guards have finally caught wind of us and started to run towards us.
"Get in! Get in!" I yelled as I practically threw Pipp and myself inside the elevator. I then repeatedly pressed the down button in a panic as the guards continued to run at us and yell at us to stop, "Come on! Come on! Come on!"
And as luck would have it, the elevator doors closed just before they could reach us.
I let out a sigh of relief and sat on my haunches as I felt elevator start to go down.
"So...we made it. Oh wow, that was intense," Pipp chuckled after a few seconds before going in a more serious tone, "Now we just have to find Zipp and I can yell at her for ruining my show."
"Yeah. To think that she'd did all of that...for this," I said as I took out the crystal from underneath my wing.
"W-wha...?" she stuttered in disbelief before swiping the crystal from my hoof, "This?! This was why my whole show was ruined and my sister left me behind?! A stupid crystal?!"
After taking a few breathes to calm down, Pipp let out a frustrated sigh and tucked the crystal under her wings.
"When we find her, she better give me a good explanation," she huffed.
I lowered my head to look at the floor.
"...She's not the only one," I said in a low voice.
"What do you..." Pipp tried to ask, but stopped when I looked up and gave her a stern face, probably catching her off guard since I rarely do that.
"Now that we made it to safety, it's time for you to start explaining. What was all that back there? What was with the wires?" I asked once again in a low voice.
Pipp's only response was silence, but I wasn't having any of that.
"Tell me the truth, Pipp," I practically demanded with a raised voice, "Can you and your family really not fly?"
"I-I..." she stuttered, clearly hesitant to answer, but that was all I needed.
"I see," I said as I lowered my head back down.
"N-Neon, I...I understand if you're mad, and I've wanted to tell you for so long, but..." Pipp tried to explain.
"...You've been lying to me for the reason you've been lying to everypony else. You've been lying in order to make me feel safe, right?" I asked in a kind of tone that pretty much said that she'd better give the correct answer.
"...I...yeah. Mom always told Zipp and I that if everypony believes that we can fly, then they would never feel as if they were in any danger. That we would be able to protect them," Pipp explained before sighing, "And...I guess I was just...scared...that you'd react in a negative way if I told you the truth."
She...actually sounded pretty genuine with her explanation, which calmed me down a bit.
"Pipp, we've known each other for years. You can tell me anything. And...I honestly couldn't care less if you can't fly. I'd surprise me at first, but I would eventually get over it," I said before looking away with a pained expression, "I just wished you told me the truth instead of lying to me all this time."
"I'm sorry," Pipp said in a sad tone, "I—"
"Stop," I interrupted her as the elevator finally stopped moving and the doors opened, "Let's just...let's just find your sister."
As we got out of the elevator and into the city, I looked back a bit and saw Pipp's gaze averted to the ground, clearly showing guilt over what she did.
"Look Pipp," I sighed, "I'm not mad at you or anything. Okay, I'm a bit mad, but you know I'm not the type that likes to hold grudges. I just...I just need some time to think, I guess."
"Okay," she whispered as her expression softened a bit.
Most ponies would be very upset if they found out that their friend has been lying to them for years and probably leave them. It's a good thing I'm not most ponies. I meant it when I said that I don't like to hold grudges against others. I'm just not one that expresses negativity so much.
I guess Pipp should consider herself lucky for that.
Because otherwise I would have left her to hang.
Zephyr Heights always looked so pretty in the night time. The grandeur buildings, the bright lights. It's like a city that never sleeps.
But sneaking around in alleyways and trying to avoid being caught by other ponies so we don't get arrested...it surely ruins the experience.
Pipp and I have been searching for Zipp for a few minutes now...when we finally heard voices.
"Oh no, no, no, no... It’s not here!" a mare's voice cried with worry.
"Seriously?!" a tomboyish mare's voice said.
Pipp and I instantly recognized whose voice that was and decided to peek around the corner. There we saw Zipp herself along with the two earth ponies and the unicorn in another alley.
Pipp frowned at the sight and proceeded to walk up to them, me following shortly behind.
"Look on the bright side. We had so much fun losing it," the unicorn said in a cheerful way.
"We have to go back," the first voice, which has been revealed to belong to the earth pony mare, said.
"But it could be anywhere," Zipp said.
It was then that Pipp unintentionally kicked into a can laying on the ground, which caused the four ponies to look in our direction.
Due to us being in the shadows, they didn't recognize us until we stepped into the light of the alley, making some sort of dramatic entrance for us.
"Somepony seriously needs to explain why this thing was so important that you had to ruin my whole show over it!" Pipp demanded as she took out the crystal from her wing.
"Trust me, it is," Zipp smiled as she tried to take the crystal, but Pipp snapped back at her.
"You left me hanging there! In the spotlight! Now everypony knows we can’t fly," she said with sadness.
"Yeah. And I had to end up getting her out of there, which guess what, most likely got me in trouble," I stepped up.
As if the timing couldn't be any more perfect, a giant TV that just so happened to be on a building outside the alley turned on.
"This just in. Some newly released footage of a pegasus helping Princess Pipp escape has been released," Dazzle reported while showing footage of me walking Pipp through the crowd before running away, "The guards are still identifying this stallion, but we advise you be on the lookout for him and report if you know of his whereabouts."
...
"...Okay...Scratch that. It definitely got me in trouble," I said with widened eyes.
"Wow," the unicorn said in amazement as she and the two earth ponies, "Zipp, you never told us you had a brother."
"Um...what?" Zipp asked in confusion as I snapped out of it and looked at her in confusion as well.
"We're not related," I said.
"You're not?" she asked, "But you two look so similar."
"Isn't it racist to assume that two ponies are related just because they have similar color schemes?"
My thought process was interrupted when Pipp's phone buzzed. She took it out and looked at the screen. I walked over and stood beside to see what was going on.
"A warrant is out for the arrest of the princesses," Dazzle reported before the video switched over to Queen Haven getting a mug shot taken.
"Pipp! Zipp! Save yourselves!" she begged before posing for some reason.
"What?! This isn’t happening! This is so not happening!" Pipp freaked out.
"And since I helped you escape..." I whispered before I sat on my haunches as I could barely stand, "Oh gosh, I'm a criminal now."
"Pipp! Neon!" Zipp spoke up, grabbing our attention, "Forget all of that! We think we can bring back magic, but we need the crystal.”
"Wait, what?"
"Have you lost your mind?" Pipp asked in disbelief.
"Please. This might be our only chance," Zipp pleaded.
"Wait, hold on," I interrupted before Pipp could respond, "I'm sorry, but...did you just say that we could bring back magic? As in we would be able to spread our wings and fly in the sky? That kind of magic?"
"Yeah?" she nodded.
I turned my head and processed it all. Zipp was always the athletic type. And if she couldn't actually fly, then I could only imagine how much she desired to do so.
And furthermore, she really isn't the type that likes to lie...even though she's been living a lie for pretty much her entire life.
But still.
A chance to bring magic back to Equestria. A chance to not be grounded all the time. A chance to be able to fly amongst the clouds.
"Pipp...maybe we should go with them," I said as I turned to the pink pegasus.
"What?!" she responded, "But we can't trust—."
"I know we've been taught our entire lives to not trust earth ponies and unicorns, but you can trust your own sister, right? After all, she wouldn't have to gone to such lengths of stealing and helping a couple of prisoners escape for no reason," I explained, but Pipp still seemed hesitant, which caused me to sigh and walk over to Zipp, "Look...I'm going with them...and I can't force you to join as well if you don't want to, but...it's the least you could do after finding out that you never trusted me enough to tell me that you can't fly."
I don't usually guilt trip others into doing something. In fact, I hate doing it. Especially to those I care about. It just feels so wrong to be manipulating the emotions of others.
But I felt like I just had to say what I said.
This seemed to work, though, as Pipp's face fell a bit and she let out a sigh.
"Fine. I know a way out. Come on," she said before running off.
Zipp and I both smiled as we and the other ponies ran after her.
"What? Wait! You can’t just... But I’m the sheriff!" the earth pony stallion whined before following.
"Not in this town, dude," I replied.
As we continued to run, Zipp came up beside me.
"Hey, um...Neon?" she said, grabbing my attention, "I'm sorry for...you know...lying to you for all these years. I...was hoping you didn't find out this way."
I simply sighed at this.
"You were only doing it to make me feel safe. I can't exactly blame you for that," I said, "But you're right. I wish you just told me instead of finding out like this."
"Are you mad?"
"A little, but you know I don't like to hold onto grudges. It's just...probably gonna take a little while for me to forgive you."
"...I understand."
"First, I find out you've been lying about being able to fly, then I become a criminal. Can this night get any worse?"
Oh how I just jinxed it yet again.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ
I felt my phone vibrating and took it out.
My eyes widened in a panic not just at the fact that somepony was calling me, but who exactly was calling me.
"Oh no," I mumbled as I stopped in my tracks.
"What's wrong?" Zipp asked as she stopped in her tracks, as well as everypony else, and eventually Pipp when she noticed what's going on.
I didn't answer her, however, and instead hesitantly answered the phone call.
"H-hey Mom," I said, "How uh...how are you doi—"
"Neon, what is going on?!" my mom said, and let me tell you when I say that she does not sound happy in the slightest.
"What do you mean?" I responded, trying to play dumb.
It did not work.
"You know exactly what I mean! You're all over the news!"
"Really?" I said, once again trying to play dumb, but on the inside I was dying, "That's cool."
"No, it's not cool! I'm worried sick because the Royal Guard is looking for you!"
"Then when they find me, I'll make sure to tell them that I was simply helping a friend," I chuckled.
"This is serious, Neon!" she yelled. After a few seconds of silence I heard her sigh in anger, "I'm sorry. I'm just...I'm just concerned about you, you know?"
"I understand."
"Where are you now?"
I glanced at the only two pegasi present before responding.
"I'm with Pipp and Zipp," I said, leaving out the fact that I'm also with two earth ponies and a unicorn.
Silence was all I could hear on the other end.
"Look...I...I understand if you're upset with them for lying to us all these years. Believe me, I'm upset with them too, but...I have to stick with my friends. I've known them for so long and I can't just abandon them," I explained, "Please, just trust me on this."
I heard her sigh once again, but this time not out of anger.
"You're a grown stallion, Neon, and I respect you enough to make your own decisions. And I appreciate you respecting me enough to be honest about them," she said, and I didn't need to see her to tell that she was smiling, "Just...be careful. Okay?"
"I will," I said with a small smile of my own, "Love you, Mom."
"Love you too, son," she said before hanging up.
I put my phone back under my wing and took a deep breathe. I looked up and saw the concerned faces of everypony (although Pipp and the earth pony stallion had looked like they had a bit of grumpiness despite them looking concerned as well).
"Come on. Let's go," I said as I trotted up ahead and beside the pink pegasus, "Lead the way, Pipp."
Pipp gave a nod before leading the way once again. Together, we all ran to escape from the pegasus city, and began moving towards...I actually don't know.
A part of me was actually...glad that my mom became sick today. Because who knows if things would've been different, and what would've happened if she was with me at the show?
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Is this a crossover?
11468154
no
So far so good on this new chapter, I like it! I'll be willing to see how Neon will do. Hope to see more of your chapters and remember: When things are going good they just keep going good.
"That was close," I sighed out of relief as Pipp, and I continued to move through the halls while hiding underneath the table. I peeked from under the covers and smiled as I recognized the doors that lead to the outside, "We're nearly there. We just have to make it to the elevator, and we'll be free."
Due to the number of guards and citizens that are currently after our heads, it would be too risky to just stay out in the open like this. Pipp might have the advantage of being small, but both of our color schemes aren't exactly meant to blend into an environment with bright light.
"Honestly, I didn't think I would get this far ahead, so...keep running to the elevator?" I suggested...just before we heard the sound of the throne room doors opening.
"Hey, thanks, Neon. I owe you one," Pipp said with appreciation.
She seemed to get the message of what I was doing as her eyes widened a bit. She pretended to resist arrest yet not to the point that I was dragging her through the crowd, who kept glaring and calling out that she was a fake and a liar.
"Alright, princess. To the dungeon you go," I said with a frown on my face, but when I grabbed Pipp's hoof to pick her up, I discreetly gave her a wink and whispered, "Play along."
"Alright, everpony! Back up!" I yelled out loud enough for the crowd to hear before they could get any closer to Pipp, who had a surprised look on her face when she saw me approaching, but quickly turned into one of hurt when I said "You do not need to worry. I and the rest of the Royal Guards will make sure that your princess will swiftly face justice for her crimes."
"Look...I... I understand if you're upset with them for lying to us all these years. Believe me, I'm upset with them too, but...I have to stick with my friends. I've known them for so long and I can't just abandon them," I explained, "Please, just trust me on this."
"H-hey, Mom," I said, "How uh...how are you doing—"
"Look, Pipp," I sighed, "I'm not mad at you or anything. Okay, I'm a bit mad, but you know I'm not the type that likes to hold grudges. I just...I just need some time to think, I guess."
"Pipp, we've known each other for years. You can tell me anything. And... I honestly couldn't care less if you can't fly. It'd surprise me at first, but I would eventually get over it," I said before looking away with a pained expression, "I just wished you told me the truth instead of lying to me all this time."
"...I... yeah. Mom always told Zipp and me that if everypony believes that we can fly, then they would never feel as if they were in any danger. That we would be able to protect them," Pipp explained before sighing, "And... I guess I was just...scared...that you'd react negatively if I told you the truth."
"So... we made it. Oh, wow, that was intense," Pipp chuckled after a few seconds before going in a more serious tone, "Now we just have to find Zipp, and I can yell at her for ruining my show."
I then started to slowly creep out from under the table, Pipp following in tow. Keeping an eye on the guards ensured me that they haven't noticed our presence yet. Turning my head, a bit to make sure that I don't knock anything over, I carefully reached a hoof out and picked up one of the gold plates covers on the table. I turned and motioned for Pipp to follow me. We both carefully crept over to beside the entrance and behind the door, just out of sight of the guards.
"It's a good thing the guards were in the throne room as well," I thought with relief, "We haven't encountered a single one so fa—Oh, come on!"
no???????